A Fox's Heart V2
by demonfox910
Summary: Sasuke's gone. Naruto explores his untapped potential to avenge his best friend, and Sakura starts seeing Naruto in a new light. Naruto swears that he will see the world burn before he loses anyone else. Revised edition of "A Fox's Heart."
1. Confrontation

Few people understand life's bad points more than Naruto Uzumaki. He is the jinchuuriki of the most powerful Tailed Beast, the Kyuubi no Yoko. He didn't have any friends for most of his childhood. The village he protected every day by keeping the demon contained, the village he _fought_ to protect as a ninja in its service, treated him like filth. He was never just a child. He was never even an ordinary ninja. To those pricks, Naruto was always filthy demon spawn: undeserving of their love, respect, or protection.

Despite all that nonsensical crap, Naruto never hated them. He just wanted what was rightfully his, what they would never give him. Naruto wanted respect, acknowledgement. That's where his dream of "The Next Hokage!" comes from.

Of course, not everyone was horrible to Naruto. His teachers Iruka, Kakashi, and Jiraiya all liked him. Teuchi and Ayame at the ramen stand were always kind to him, and his teammates and classmates, as time went on, generally got along with him.

The thing is, since Naruto didn't have anyone for a good deal of his life, he clings tightly to those he has now. His friends are his family, and, to him, every single "precious person" is more than worth risking his own life to save. So you do not, ever, ever fuck with Naruto's precious people.

Because if you do, you are dead. You beat Naruto and he'll get straight back up. You hit him until anyone else would be bloodied and broken and he'll put on a cocky grin and ask "That all you got?" See, you can't stop him because he doesn't give and he doesn't quit and he never breaks a promise. He will just come back until he's pounded your face into the dirt and then he'll wait for _you_ to rise so he can do it again.

Team Kakashi was always somewhat unstable. They started out with a loser, a fangirl, and a broody avenger who belittled his teammates.

The loser became stronger, practically by himself and almost unbeknownst to his team, the fangirl took the initiative after some self-denial and started training under the finest medic-nin on the planet, and the broody avenger turned traitor and nearly killed the loser, his best friend; Naruto Uzumaki.

The former loser and the former fangirl worked themselves almost to death to transcend their respective limits and bring home the only one who hadn't changed; the broody avenger, Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto had three main goals in his life: Bring home Sasuke and save his soul from being consumed with hate, become the greatest Hokage and be acknowledged and respected, and win the heart of the former fangirl: Sakura Haruno.

When Team Kakashi had been wittled down to only two members because the avenger was busy being a traitorous jackass and their sensei had been hospitalized, Naruto and Sakura were joined by the token creepy effeminate guy: Sai; and the creepy undercover guy: Yamato aka Tenzo.

They started going out on missions again, and life became _somewhat _normal, but normal for The Leaf's knucklehead ninja and beautiful cherry blossom means something completely different than what it would mean to you or me, so no one should be surprised when a mission to bring home their beloved friend goes wrong.

***dattebayo***

Today finds the newly reformed Team Kakashi racing through Rice Country to crash an arranged meeting between a spy and Sasori of the Red Sands, who had been killed by Sakura and the Late Elder Chiyo of The Sand on the Team's last mission.

They reached the bridge in silence, stopping to recover at the side opposite of the spy's expected arrival. Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato reached into their packs for a quick drink. Sai eyed his canteen, but then put it back on his belt.

Naruto turned to Team Kakashi's newest member and frowned. "It's not a good idea to not drink. You'll get dehydrated, and even if I don't like you, the Team'll suffer if we aren't all on top form."

Sai smiled without a trace of emotion. "I wouldn't be worried about me being on top form. Perhaps you should be drinking a little extra." The fake smile got even wider and even faker. "After all, dickless, I'm not a pussy."

Naruto turned scarlet at the last comment and grabbed Sai by the front of his shirt. "You wanna run that crap by me again, you pale creep?" he growled. "I thought we had some kind of understanding back at the damn hot springs, but if you really want your head to roll, go ahead." Naruto leaned in close then, so Sai could see his slit pupils and larger-than average canines. "I _dare_ you." He growled. "_Keep talking_."

Sai just kept smiling and gently detached himself from the raging demon container, backing off a couple of steps. For her part, Sakura kept a straight face throughout Naruto's uncharacteristic outburst. After all, she had no reason to like Sai.

Yamato stood up after a quick swig from his canteen. He sighed and looked up at the two teenagers. "Are you guys done?" he asked. "Because I'm not above controlling you with fear if I run out of other options." The captain's eyes were almost bugging out of his head, and his face looked like it had been shadowed. Naruto found himself wishing for something to put between the ghostly captain and his own face.

Sai nodded curtly, and after getting over the freaky expression on Yamato's face, Naruto did the same.

"Okay," Yamato said, the water break over, "here's the plan: You three will wait here. I'll meet with the spy and signal you if the need arises. Remember that the goal is to _capture _without too serious an injury. He needs to be able to answer questions, got it?"

The team nodded.

Yamato smiled. "Good. But first, I need to get into character."

The former anbu slapped his hands together in the snake seal and intoned "Wood Style." Wood and chakra rose around him and formed into the hunched shape of Hiroko, Sasori's preferred walkaround puppet.

The disguised shinobi turned to Sakura. "I'm going to run through different tones of voice. Let me know when I have it right and I'll stick with that when talking to the spy."

The rosette nodded. Yamato ran through several voices; high and low, clear and hoarse. With Sakura's instruction he finally settled on a deep, gravelly voice very much like that of Sasori when in the puppet.

With that matter settled, Yamato explained how they would be positioned. He would wait, in clear view, at their end of the bridge, to meet the spy on the bridge when he arrived. Sai, Naruto, and Sakura would wait behind a boulder on the same side, ready to intervene and aid the captain, or restrain the spy.

They didn't have to wait long. Within less than a half hour of waiting, the slim figure of Kabuto Yakushi emerged from the path on the opposite end of the bridge. The traitorous medic started conversing with the former anbu, but then without warning darted in and lashed out with his signature move, the chakra scalpel, breaking Yamato's disguise and grazing his upper right arm.

The captain jumped back, then immediately flicked his right index and middle fingers, signaling the rest of the team. The genin, chunin, and anbu immediately formed up in front of their captain.

Naruto already had grown claws and fangs, and his eyes were now slitted, with blood-red irises replacing cerulean.

Naruto growled savagely. "Well, call the rest of the people I'm sure you brought, you traitor," he taunted.

Kabuto smiled. "Please, Naruto-kun. I don't need any assistance to defeat two anbu, a female medic, and a _genin_. Orochimaru-sama allowed me to do this alone. We learned of Sasori's demise almost as soon as it happened, and have been tracking your group since you departed The Leaf."

Yamato stepped in, drawing a kunai. "If you've been tracking us," he asked, "then why haven't you tried to kill us yet?"

"Because," Kabuto retorted, "even though we knew Sasori was dead, we didn't know why you were coming here. We could guess you were making for Orchimaru-sama, both by your team's members and the way you were going, but your objective was a curiosity."

Yamato seemed to accept that. Before he moved to attack, however, he was cut off.

"All I heard was that little bit about you being alone," Naruto said, "Okay, then, you traitor," Sakura stepped in then and at the same time, they both asked "where is Sasuke?"

Kabuto brought his hands up. Chakra began swirling around his fingers, before solidifying into a pair of chakra scalpels. They let out a whirring _hum _sound.

"Well," he said, laughing softly, "I really would like to tell you. But then, the dead can't hear. I'd be wasting my time."

Yamato actually smiled, as did Sai. Unexpectedly, it was Sai who spoke first.

"You're overconfident," he said, the fake smile now scary rather than mocking, "and that will be your undoing. You're outnumbered and outclassed."

Sai snatched his scroll and brush. His hand was a blur as he painted.

Yamato drew his hand back, preparing to hurl his kunai.

Sakura prepared to charge.

Naruto flexed his claws like an Inuzuka. He could control his first-phase jinchuuriki state with ease now. Kabuto obviously thought he was the same little kid from two and a half years ago. He was about to regret that. Big time.

There was a singular roar from Naruto and Sakura as all hell broke loose.

Yamato's kunai came hurtling towards Kabuto's midsection. He avoided it by swaying to the side just as two blurs of orange and red closed on him.

Kabuto leapt back, just barely avoiding a set of claws aimed at his chest, while Sakura's fist demolished the spot he had previously occupied.

He went to immobilize both teens with his scalpels, aiming for the back of Sakura's neck to sever her spine, and for the tendons in the crook of Naruto's arm.

_That's two_, he thought.

The ex-medic was fast, but Naruto proved faster. Displaying uncanny flexibility, Naruto ducked under the scalpel, before spinning and springing his foot upwards to crash into Kabuto's chin.

Kabuto was launched away from the two Leaf nin before his second scalpel struck Sakura, but he managed to twist in the air and land on his feet.

_I didn't expect him to be that fast_, he thought. _I'll catch him this time_.

Making use of his excellent chakra control, sharpened by years of using medical jutsu, Kabuto pumped chakra into his legs and shot forward, hurling a fistful of shuriken.

Naruto and Sakura leapt in sync to avoid the shuriken. As they rose into the air, a group of wooden spikes sped towards Kabuto from Yamato's arm, batting away the shuriken, accompanied by a quartet of ink lions, courtesy of Sai.

Kabuto managed to disperse three of the lions immediately, but the fourth raked his shoulder before he struck it with a chakra scalpel. He jumped back to avoid the spikes. They impaled the bridge just as the Sound nin started healing his shoulder.

Naruto flashed forward with a pair of kunai and attacked Kabuto, trying incapacitate him. Kabuto retaliated with his scalpels, which Naruto would block with the kunai.

Kabuto was loath to admit it, but he was actually having trouble keeping up with the jinchuuriki. Naruto's fox-enhanced speed was on par with, if not better than his own. On top of that, the blonde had considerable physical strength, and it was obvious that he'd improved on what had previously been the taijutsu skills of an average genin.

Kabuto was finding it harder and harder to match Naruto. The blonde was striking out with his entire body in some weird animalistic fashion, something Kabuto was not equipped to fight with his trademark style of using just his hands. What made the situation even worse was that there were three more shinobi; all of which were presently hanging back.

Realizing he was, as the pale anbu had said, outmatched, Kabuto slashed wildly at Naruto's face to drive him back, then spun and made a break for the forest. However, he was promptly met with the rest of Team Kakashi. He'd thought they were behind Naruto this entire time!

Yamato brought up his hands to form a set of seals. Kabuto, panicking slightly as he realized that he was trapped, tried to escape with a chakra-enhanced leap. Before he could reach the trees, however, Sai met him in the air, and he had to activate his chakra scalpel to stop a double-sided tanto from cutting him from clavicle to hip. Yamato lowered his hands and simply watched.

The two hit the ground. Kabuto managed to duck a scything kick that Naruto had swung at the back of his head, but his face quickly met Sai's knee. As blood began oozing from his nose, he avoided an open palm to the face, before feeling his diaphragm cave as Naruto kicked him in the chest.

Kabuto hurtled towards Sakura and Yamato. Tsunade's apprentice caught him by the throat and slammed him into the dirt before squeezing—hard. The sound nin felt himself losing air as his larynx was constricted, so he grabbed the girl's arm with both hands and cut her tendons with a chakra scalpel—only to have them immediately start repairing themselves.

Sakura raised her other hand and clenched it into a fist. Realizing that he was finished if it hit, Kabuto kicked Sakura away with both legs, then rose and darted away again. He had to escape.

Yamato huffed in annoyance. "Enough." A wooden tendril shot from the earth and wrapped around Kabuto's body, arresting him in mid-stride and holding him still.

"Stop trying to run," Yamato said. "You were caught the minute you stepped on the bridge." Kabuto gritted his teeth in defiance and went to shout something, but a chop to the back of the neck silenced him.

The captain looked back to his team and gave them a smile. Naruto was back to his normal appearance, and Sakura was holding her arm, double checking the tendons Kabuto had cut.

"Good job," Yamato said. "I knew you'd get the hang of working with each other eventually."

The team, sans Sai, sweat dropped. However, they all shared the same thought. _Does he mean he was just using that as a lesson? He could've ended it anytime?_

***dattebayo***

There came a knock to the dark room's door. The man didn't want to go in. Nobody would have wanted to go in. The snake sannin's private laboratories generally put horror films to shame. This one in particular stank of death and chemicals. It was like a mold-filled mortuary filled with corpses that had been left in the sun for a few weeks. The man gathered his courage and spoke.

"Orochimaru-sama?"

The reply was quick. The Otokage's voice was deep but raspy, like grinding metal.

"Enter."

He obeyed, and tried his best to cease breathing as the horrible stench struck him, only taking a few short breaths in, and only then breathing through the back of his throat.

The man knelt in utter reverence and fear, not daring to look up.

"What is it?" his lord asked.

"The scouts have returned. I regret to report that Kabuto-sama failed and has been captured, my lord." He held his breath. Orochimaru was unpredictable, and bad news was rarely tolerated.

There was a calm intake of breath. "Give the order for ten chunin to meet me at the west exit in five minutes. I'll be attending to this matter personally."

"Yes, my lord." Trying to gain favor, the man added "I wish you good luck."

He did not look up—he didn't. But he could _feel _those horrible eyes on him. He heard a chuckle. He froze. He thought this was the end. He'd forgotten his place; his lord was going to kill him. _Oh please God no, no, no! I don't wanna die!_

The chuckle became a deep, entrancing laugh. "Luck doesn't exist, you insignificant fool. Even if it does, I do not recall ever needing it. Now get out of my sight."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." The man rose, before bowing low and ducking out of the room, shutting the door on his way out. He hurried to carry out his orders, all the way praising whatever angels had watched over him.

The snake sannin, former Akatsuki member, and S-ranked criminal sighed happily. "At last, Naruto-kun, you have come to visit me." He rose from his lab chair.

His face was illuminated by the lamp on his desk. However, it was not the face of a pale, black-haired man in his fifties.

It was the smooth, pale skin, lean physique, thin jaw, and dark hair of someone else. Three tomoe swirled in a pair of Sharingan eyes.

No, this was not the form of Orochimaru. This was the form of Sasuke Uchiha.

**As I said, this is just a well-edited rewrite of the first story. Tell me what you thought! If you read the last one, tell me how this compares!**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	2. Rage and Pain

**Second chapter of the second version of my first story. Phew…**

Eleven Sound Shinobi were speeding through the wilderness of the land of Rice Paddies. They were headed to Kabuto Yakushi's last confirmed location. He'd been captured by four Leaf nin. They would rescue Kabuto, but the ninja were their prey.

Two notable opponents—the anbu captain and jinchuuriki—an unresearched medical chunin, and another anbu.

They were ten highly capable chunin. They had no doubts as to their success, especially when one considered who led them.

At their head was Orochimaru himself, clad in the skin of Sasuke Uchiha.

***dattebayo***

Kabuto Yakushi was propped against a tree, wrapped inside the same wooden binding Yamato had trapped him in. He'd repaired his minor injuries from fighting Team Kakashi, but was no closer to escaping. His hands were firmly held away from his body, making a chakra scalpel useless. He couldn't move at all. Finally, he'd been gagged.

Sai and Yamato had been on a quick patrol while Naruto and Sakura stayed with Kabuto. They had moved, and were approximately five miles away from the battle site at the bridge. Any farther would have been a hindrance with Kabuto at the moment, and it hadn't been decided yet whether they would take Kabuto back to The Leaf for interrogation or whether they'd try to find Orochimaru.

Naruto's demon chakra had receded, reverting him back to his normal appearance. He was still frustrated that Kabuto had not said a thing about Sasuke, and had belittled their skills, and betrayed The Leaf, and…well, a lot of things.

Sakura was sitting, with her back against a tree and her knees held against her chest, deep in thought. Naruto stood next to the immobile Kabuto, twirling a kunai on his pointer finger.

Sakura looked at her teammate.

"Hey, Naruto?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he responded, still twirling his kunai.

"What if we don't find Sasuke? What if we lose him again?"

Naruto whipped his head towards at his pink-haired teammate in surprise. Sakura _never _gave up on Sasuke. _She _had been the one to reassure _him_ when the retrieval mission had failed two years ago. She had said she would get stronger and she had. He was _way_ stronger than he had ever been. It seemed their chances of getting their teammate back had only improved, so why was she feeling so doubtful and dejected? He could see it in her face; she was genuinely upset.

Naruto sheathed his knife, walked over to the rosette, and knelt beside her.

"What is it, Sakura-chan? We'll definitely find Sasuke and bring him home. You remember? I said that it was the promise of a lifetime." He gripped her shoulders and turned her so that she was looking into his eyes. "I _never _break my word. We'll get him back."

Sakura gazed into his eyes. Naruto could tell that she knew he meant what he said. She still had that sadness in her eyes, though. It was like the stress of it all had finally come crashing down on her.

"But it's been two years!" Sakura exclaimed, sounding horrified. "Two years, Naruto! What if they've brainwashed him? Killed him? Stolen his eyes, his body? I didn't think of it before, but it's been so long! How many things could they have done to him?" Her eyes grew wet, and the scent of salty tears stung Naruto's hypersensitive nose.

He was a bit scared for Sakura now. He had to put some of these concerns to rest, and quick. He just _hated _it when she cried. It was like a little piece of him started crying, too. He couldn't stand it. It wasn't right! _She was way too pretty to be crying._

Naruto removed one hand from one of her shoulders, then wrapped the other around her and held her to his side.

"Orochimaru has to wait three years to do the body-transfer thing. Ero-sennin told me, and he's good at what he does. And Sasuke has dreams, he has a purpose, it's not like he's gonna let that perverted snake bastard mess with his mind. He's too tough for that." He started stroking Sakura's hair.

Naruto's emotions started conflicting. Excitement that he was holding Sakura, concern for Sakura, wanting to comfort Sakura, hate for Orochimaru and Kabuto, sadness that Sakura felt for Sasuke and not him, anger at the general state of the world. He could really only process one thought as he tried to comfort his crush. _Kami, my life sucks._

Sakura ceased her crying and nuzzled into Naruto's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a warm embrace. Why did this beautiful, kind, wonderful person have to feel such pain? He wouldn't have cared about her love for Sasuke if the teme had only returned it. All he wanted was for Sakura to be happy. That was all that mattered.

Sakura let loose a faint sob. Naruto just kept holding her. She almost started crying again. He rubbed her back and whispered comforting words. Okay, best friend status be damned. Sasuke was going to receive a fist to the face when they found him.

Sakura wrapped her deceptively strong arms around Naruto's muscular waist and buried her head in his chest. Naruto felt her hair under his chin. He'd always thought her hair was beautiful, even if it was a bit too unique to be convenient and stood out in crowds. Even after days on the road and a dip in the hot springs, he could smell the shampoo she always wore at home: a mixture of strawberries and cinnamon. He could spend eternity like this, he decided. She was so warm and soft, and smelled so good…he would give _anything _just to stay like that. Just…holding her.

Sakura had stopped sobbing. She seemed to have finally regained her composure when an eerily familiar voice said "How sweet, Naruto-kun. You seem to really have it good with the ladies, don't you?"

The Kyuubi vessel felt his crush tense in his arms. He bit back a curse. Moron. He was a _moron_. He'd let this…this…_prick_—oh yes, he knew _exactly _who that voice belonged to—sneak up on him. He'd lost his cool, and now he was caught off guard. By a Sannin, no less.

He relaxed his arms, and Sakura started to pull back.

His eyes turned crimson. "_Orochimaru_," he growled. "Sakura, he's mine."

"What? Naruto, that's—"

"_No arguments_. He's a Sannin. I might be okay because I've got the fox. You don't." His voice was rough. He knew he was being harsh, but Sakura would _not _be able to survive a fight with Orochimaru. He might be able to, but it was gonna hurt. A lot.

He started mouthing a count-off. _Three, two, one_. Sakura jumped back and drew a kunai. Naruto whirled around, his hands already forming the cross sign for his favorite jutsu.

That's when Team Seven's two remaining members got a _very _good look at "Orochimaru."

Naruto was struck dumb. "What…but…_no_..."

Sakura stretched her hand out to the man she loved. "Sasuke-kun?"

***dattebayo***

Metal clanged. Then there was a choking gurgle. Blood sprayed everywhere as Sai slashed a Sound ninja's throat. Just as the body fell, a second scout tackled him, knocking his tanto out of his hand. The ninja aimed a kunai at Sai's face, but he caught the scout's wrist and kicked the ninja in the chest, hurling him into the air. Sai hurled a shuriken after the man.

He ran through a few seals before settling the first two fingers of each hand in a cross shape.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu," he commanded. The Sound nin fell to the earth, riddled with throwing stars. He did not move again.

Sai turned and was greeted by the sight of three more ninja charging him. He moved to avoid a trio of kunai, but a follow up fire jutsu seared his leg. He dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth with the pain. He couldn't avoid the fourth kunai that came to cut his shoulder.

The ninja were close, now. The root member grimaced and dragged his ninjustu scroll across his bleeding shoulder. He whipped out the brush and began drawing frantically. When that was done he threw it down and started forming seals at a speed Kakashi Hatake would envy. By the time he completed the twenty-third seal two seconds had passed. He slammed his palm on the scroll and commanded "Secret Ninja Drawing Arts: Crimson Masterpiece."

The blood-tainted ink blasted from the ground like a fountain, intercepting any further assault.

The ink turned a murky purple, and kept lightening to a deep crimson. Sai stretched out his hand at the bloody chakra ink. It responded to his will and morphed into the shape of two small ninjas, no more than children. Both had swords in their hands and Fuuma shuriken on their backs. They were holding hands.

The Sound shinobi stopped ten feet away from their target. Neither could put it into words…but they were utterly terrified. Something about the children's smiling faces, drawn in blood, just screamed death.

Sai's emotionless mask eroded as he gave his opponents a murderous glare.

"This is an ancient technique," he snarled, "combining art and the user's blood into an extension of themselves." The grey-clad ninjas suddenly looked fearful.

"Do you understand?" he all but shouted, before his voice quieted again. "This drawing is the physical manifestation of my soul, and it's about to rip you to pieces." The happy smiles on the boys' faces became murderous grins, the eyes to blood-red orbs, as they charged, screeching, at the Sound chunin.

Sai looked away when the screams began. There was a reason he refrained from using his best techniques. Art is made up of the painter's memories. He did not want to remember.

Yamato, not one hundred yards away, was engaged with the remaining ninja.

He'd caught one with a stone spears jutsu, and the limp body was now suspended off the ground, impaled. The remaining five, however, had dodged the rocks and were closing on him.

"Wood Style: Death Briar!"

A thicket of thorny branches erupted from the earth. One Sound nin couldn't dodge fast enough and was ensnared in the nettles. As the four survivors leapt away and circled around behind him, Yamato formed the snake seal, commanding the thorns to crush their captor.

The screams were muffled as the thicket swallowed the ninja. Blood erupted from the thicket as Yamato leapt to avoid a blast of electricity.

The captain bit off a curse as he landed in the trees. He'd been pretty lucky with the first two ninja, but it was obvious that the other four wouldn't be letting him near the ground. That was okay, though. He could fight them other ways.

As the four chunin started to form seals, Yamato matched them with his own.

"Water Style: Ripping Torrent!"

***dattebayo***

"Sasuke-kun, why do you…you can't be…" Sakura was completely flustered. She had no idea what was going on. Naruto on the other hand, understood far too well. That voice…Sasuke's body…shit, it was unmistakable.

"_I'll rip you apart…" _

Sakura gasped as Naruto's fingernails shot into inch-long claws. His skin oozed seething bubbles of red chakra. Within seconds they'd formed the shape of a fox around the blonde's body, complete with ears, and single tail that that twitched and waved about.

"Naruto, what are you doing? That's Sasuke!"

Naruto gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. His fists were clenched in anger, his claws digging into palms of his hands.

"_No, that's not, Sakura. That's Orochimaru. Sasuke's dead."_

"You said Orochimaru needed three years!" At this, "Sasuke's" face erupted into a wide grin.

"_I don't know how he did it, but that's not Sasuke. If Sasuke were alive, though, I'd feel something."_ He glared at Orochimaru. _"I don't sense Sasuke's chakra at all. I can't smell him either. You reek of snakes." _

Orochimaru laughed. "You have become very perceptive, Naruto-kun." He smiled. "You are right. Sasuke-kun is dead." He pretended to wipe away a tear. "It saddens me _so _much to say it. As to how, it was a lucky mistake on my part. I had a brief moment of foolishness, and tried to possess him early. Sasuke-kun, of course, resisted. I'd expect no less. However, he ended up trapping me inside his own soul."

Orochimaru's manic smile almost split his face. "I butchered his soul. I did it slowly, to savor the experience. The things I did with little Sasuke…oooh, you wouldn't believe half of them. And then, since I was the only one remaining in his soul, I was the only thing keeping his body alive. A bit after that, my entrapment ceased, and, well…here I am!" Orochimaru's smile was one of genuine happiness, but masked with such evil and sadism that it made Naruto's snarl of pure rage turn momentarily to a cringe of disgust.

Sakura was whimpering and hugging herself. Naruto had heard and seen enough. He shouldn't have let the bastard keep talking. He spat angrily.

"_Shut your fucking mouth.__"_

"Oh? Is that anger I hear Naruto-kun?" The sannin smiled devilishly.

There was a roar of pure _power_ as the earth underneath Naruto cracked and ground to dust.

Sakura retreated in fear of the sheer malevolence the filled the air. The pressure was insane—Naruto's killing intent was so enormous it was literally suffocating. She couldn't move or breathe outside of short gasps.

Naruto's voice was quiet, eerily calm. It sent a sharp jolt of apprehension through the snake watching from the tree branch.

"_You're asking me…if I'm angry…?"_ The killing intent focused and compressed. Sakura could breathe again, but if anything, she was far more afraid.

"_I've never felt like this in my entire life," _Naruto continued._ "You've murdered more innocents than I'd bet you could even count—" _

Orochimaru smiled.

"—_you tried to destroy the Leaf Village. You killed the old man, and he loved you like a son." _Naruto took a small step forward. _"You tried to kill Baa-chan and Ero-sennin."_ Another step._ "You tried to kill me."_ Another. _"Now you've taken my best friend from me. Sasuke was like my brother."_ Naruto stepped again. He was only a couple feet away from the branch Orochimaru was standing on.

The explosive power of the fox cloak and Naruto's killing intent, which seemed to have been harnessed only a minute before, exploded outwards in a scream of rage.

Naruto's eyes blazed with power as tears cascaded over the thick whisker scars on his cheeks.

"_I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!" _

With that promise, Naruto flashed out of sight, only to send Orochimaru flying, his clenched right fist poised right where the Sannin's face had been. The sound of snapping branches echoed as Orochimaru went flying through the trees.

Naruto sounded more fox than human as he growled. _"I swore to punch Sasuke in the face when I saw him. I held back on that one, but now," _his tears had ceased, and his eyes narrowed in rage, _"I'll make you disappear!" _

He didn't care what the hell happened to him. He wasn't thinking at all. He heard a crunching noise as the dust settled, and tracked it to its source—a lone figure hurling a thick bough off their back, and standing up.

His hands clapped together. _"Wind Style: Falcon Rush!"_ Wind compressed behind him behind exploding, catapulting the jinchuuriki forward like a ballistic missile, a purple rasengan already formed in his right hand. Orochimaru struck out at Naruto's right wrist with his foot, deflecting the rasengan, but unable to stop the air-to-surface demonic missile that barreled into him.

The roars of a fox mixed with the hissing of a snake as the two grappled in the dirt, fighting like beasts. Naruto wanted revenge. He wanted blood. Orochimaru, on the other hand, was now fighting to survive against a currently physically superior opponent.

Sakura managed regained her composure and stood up. She saw a cloud of smoke and dust rising in the distance. When Sakura had a clear view, she saw a three-tailed Naruto straddling Orochimaru's chest and tearing at the seemingly-unconscious sannin with reckless abandon. Blood and skin splattered on the ground.

It seemed over, but as Naruto raised his chakra-shrouded claws to deliver the final blow, Orochimaru's mouth opened and a second snake Sannin emerged, covered in a film of slime, and Naruto's claws decapitated a lifeless shell of flesh. This Orochimaru had turned his legs into a snake-like tail.

Naruto stood and flung the bloody shed skin aside like it was wet rag. Before he could defend himself, however, Orochimaru had used a jutsu to cover his fist in stone, and proceeded to slam it into the blonde's jaw. As he reeled from the blow, a second stone-encased fist sank into his gut, the force of the blow lifting him into the air. As he came down, Orochimaru spun and drove a stone-encased foot into the small of Naruto's back. A silent gasp escaped his lips as he felt the air leave his lungs. His spine hurt like hell.

Orochimaru let him drop. Naruto couldn't believe this. A chakra cloak with three tails likely put him at almost the same speed as Rock Lee, and he had enough power to rip down trees. The chakra cloak was capable of taking a fireball at the one-tailed state.. But that…weird earth jutsu the bastard had used on his hands and feet had thrown everything around. _I can't go toe-to-toe with this guy…no…NO! I have to try!_

So he rose to his feet and charged again. He ripped his claws away from each other in a wicked cross cut meant to leave the sannin with no room for recovery. He was going rip that freak's head off! He was close; his claws were almost there…now!

He missed. Orochimaru simply dropped into a crouch, let the slashes fly over him, then wrapped the blonde's ankle in a stone fist and swung him over and into the dirt.

Naruto clawed and scrabbled, trying to get away. Orochimaru backed away, and Naruto stood, then jumped back.

He went through a set of hand signs. "_Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" _The gust built and released, but Orochimaru smirked and met it with his own, and the overpowering blast sent Naruto flying.

He landed hard. Every muscle in his body ached. "Urgh…" he almost tried to stand, but something flashed into his line of sight and a stone fist came down.


	3. Rage and Pain part 2

**Okay, picking up from where we left off. Orochimaru just gave Naruto the pounding of his life.**

The chakra cloak receded. Without its healing properties, blood began welling from Naruto's face. He nearly choked as it clogged his nose and mouth. His jacket was torn, and dotted with dirt and blood.

What used to be Sasuke's mouth split into a smug grin as Orochimaru released the Earth Fist technique on his hands and feet. He lifted the blond from the ground one-handed by his jacket and laughed in his face.

"After all this time, you still aren't fit to lick Sasuke-kun's boots. You certainly aren't fit to lick _mine_."

Naruto tried to force a growl from his throat, but it came out as a whimper. _I…can't move at all. After all that, I couldn't hurt him…I have to do something, or he'll kill me for real._

He knew that any more demon chakra could cause serious damage to himself, but whatever was going to happen couldn't be worse than dying. Besides, what other options did he have?

"You're useless," Orochimaru chirped, letting go of Naruto. He turned when he didn't hear the sound of the genin collapsing like a boned fish. Somehow, Naruto had enough strength to land and right himself on his own two feet.

_Fox, I need more_, he pleaded. He wasn't in his mindscape, but since he'd been using its chakra recently, he hoped the fox could hear him.

To his relief, there was a deep, gravelly response. _**Do you know what you're asking for, Kit? **_

_I'm asking for your help. We're a team, that's what we do._

_**Your chakra coils are overloaded! You can handle up to three tails without my permission or help—**_**if**_** you maintain control! You lost your head, and my chakra started eating away at your chakra system!**_

_Please…I'm not strong enough without you._

_**You're a suck up, kit…don't bitch at me later. This is gonna burn. **_

For the second time that day, a primal roar of power erupted. This time, though, it was a dark red pillar of chakra piercing the sky, not a cluster of red bubbles. It was more compressed, more powerful, and more hateful. Naruto's mental blocks broke. The chakra burned his skin away, and he was covered by a wretched mixture of blood and chakra. His eyes were bright white circles.

Naruto Uzumaki had taken on the look of a little demon fox. And then, with a roar, the little demon fox attacked.

Orochimaru's gullet constricted. Then, quick as a striking snake (pun totally intended) the Sword of Kusanagi emerged and the Sannin gripped the hilt and swung down two-handed. The jinchuuriki caught the blade. Then they disappeared. They came in and out of existence, crashing together in flashes of silver and crimson. A snake latched onto Naruto's arm—it disintegrated.

Orochimaru began using his jian like a jutte. He struck at the genin to crush, not to cut. The sharingan darted back and forth. If not for its properties, Orochimaru suspected even hewould have been in great danger.

However, Naruto had entered a jinchuuriki's second stage—Version 2—and he was almost tireless. He fought through the strikes, striking at the Sannin with claws, fists, feet, and tails. Neither Naruto or the Kyuubi had control. The jinchuuriki's body was running on pure, motorized instinct. Now it was the fox pushing back the snake, though neither seemed to actually have the upper hand, with Sakura, the only onlooker, praying for it to end. Relief seemed far away, however, as the two opponents sought to rend each other's souls out of existence.

After several minutes of the harsh stalemate, Naruto screeched and hurled back his opponent, expelling both demonic and regular chakra from his body. Orochimaru's face had been a picture of concentration, his grin dissolved, but now he took on a look of pure ecstasy.

"Yes, finally! I've been waiting for a real test! So test me, be the first victim of my sharingan's true power!"

With that, Sasuke's eyes changed. Naruto's demon-influenced mind comprehended three sharp ovals intersecting in the center of his opponent's eyes. As the jinchuuriki watched, the chakra he had expelled gathered in front of his face.

The two chakras condensed into a fist-sized ball that the jinchuuriki swallowed. He then began to swell like rising dough. Meanwhile, Orochimaru began laughing like a madman, and swallowed Kusanagi, a long tongue lolling between his fangs.

Naruto's body looked like a giant red bowling ball. Putrid gas began to leak between his fangs.

Orochimaru raised his eyebrows just before Naruto's body compressed back down.

There was an electrical _zoom _as the chakra shot out of Naruto's mouth in a condensed beam. Orochimaru splayed his fingers out and placed them on either side of his eye.

"Blaze Style: Infernal Eclipse." A burst of jet-black flame shot from Orochimaru left eye. It swirled and condensed, forming what seemed to be a black hole ten feet across in front of Orochimaru. The tailed beast ball struck it and was absorbed, with no damaging effects to either Orochimaru or the surrounding landscape.

Orochimaru grinned devilishly. "Amaterasu is a fire capable of burning anything. It can never be put out. Once I unlocked the technique I made a few adjustments." The demon ninja cocked his head to the side.

"I've created a vortex of destruction! Anything that touches the eclipse, even pure chakra, is destroyed, sucked into a well of nothingness! Do you see? I'm perfect! With these eyes I shall master all the jutsu in the world, and no one will ever be able to use ninjutsu against me! I'm invincible!"

Naruto stared at his opponent, unable to comprehend speech. The most lethal trick in his arsenal had just been neutralized, and his human form could not hold more demonic chakra without permanent, irreversible damage. The current situation would likely screw up his chakra coils enough. He did the logical thing in such a situation. Just as blood began leaking out of his opponents left eye, he charged. Then he fell on his face.

Orochimaru had demonstrated his new-found power. He had been momentarily stung by the after-effects to his eye, but he could have still taken on this _genin_ for several hours. Then the boy runs at him, and falls? This was his moment of _glory_. Now the boy's demon cloak was receding, revealing a lack of skin; just charred, bleeding muscles. Disgusting. Destroying a collapsed, bleeding child brought no glory. The Sannin ground his teeth in anger.

"This is a jinchuuriki's limit?" Orochimaru said, enraged. "This is the limit of a future Hokage? Is _this_ your limit, Naruto Uzumaki?" Orochimaru scoffed at the unconscious genin and spat in his face. He looked at himself.

"Look, you ruined my shirt, _what_ an accomplishment." The Sannin ripped said garment off, exposing pale, unmarked skin. "You're pathetic, Naruto-kun," he breathed, dragging a pale finger down the blonde's cheek. He reached into his mouth and withdrew the sword of Kusanagi. "Now perish like the useless fool we both know you to be."

Watching from a distance, her eyes overflowing with tears, Sakura had seen everything. Had seen Naruto willingly give into his primal side to kill Orochimaru, had seen the most intense amount of chakra she'd ever seen stopped almost effortlessly by the killer of the man she had loved. Now she saw her best remaining friend, a steadfast teammate and companion, about to be killed by the same murderer. In Sasuke's body. She knew, without a doubt, what she had to do. It's what Naruto was trying to do. It's what Kakashi would do were he there. It's what Sasuke would have wanted done.

_Naruto…you've always been there for me. You've protected me, supported me, comforted me. You care for others before yourself, never thinking about consequences as long as they're you own. I haven't repaid you, cannot repay you for everything you've done for me. That's why… I can't let you die! _

Sakura crisply slapped her hands together in a tiger seal and commanded "Lightning Style: Zeus' Fist."

Her hands began glowing blue and purple. They crackled with rapid electric bursts. Sakura leapt from her hiding place and charged Orochimaru, who was standing over Naruto with his sword raised. She drew her hand back and thrust it forward, sending a bolt of lightning at Orochimaru's face before he could deliver the killing blow to Naruto.

The Otokage batted the electricity harmlessly into the sky with his sword. He turned to the new threat, an almost bored look on Sasuke's handsome face.

"Don't you touch him!" Sakura yelled. "You've taken Sasuke but you won't have Naruto!" She closed the little remaining distance between her and the Sannin and started swinging with every ounce of strength her body and jutsu could generate. Orochimaru lived up to his moniker of the Snake Sannin, however, and dodged with astonishing flexibility, moving like an elastic band.

After a full minute, Sakura's arms dropped. Orochimaru stood in front of her, not winded in the least. Sakura, on the other hand, panted heavily.

Orochimaru cocked his head to the side. "You're weak" he stated simply, then landed a crushing knee strike to her stomach, catapulting the medic into a fallen tree. She spat blood and went limp. The Sannin was now severely disappointed and very, _very_ bored. Time to do away with this Hidden Leaf trash.

"You had to interfere, little girl. Now, Kusanagi shall cut your throat as well." he said. He inched towards Sakura, an emotionless expression on his face.

_You're weak. Kusanagi…your…too…You won't have Naruto! _"Sakura-chan?" Naruto raised his head, only to see the woman he loved with the jian of legend leveled less than six inches from her lovely neck. "So long…" Orochimaru said, bringing Kusanagi up for a final swing.

"_NOOOO!_"

An ear splitting scream of pain and rage cut through the air. Orochimaru turned around. His eyes showed fear for the first time. Naruto was standing. His jacket and pants were shredded and burnt. Half of his skin was still missing. Blood dripped freely from his body. His hair was matted and dirty. The genin looked half-dead, that is, until you reached his face. The teeth were pulled back into a defiant snarl. The eyes were of the purest cerulean, but they were scarier than crimson had ever been. These eyes showed no outright malevolence, no insanity. They showed one thing: death.

A breath escaped Naruto's teeth. _"I'll say it again," _he said, _"you're going to die here." _

Naruto sunk inside his mindscape, entering a dark, wet sewer, with the only recognizable thing being an enormous cage containing the most deadly power known to the current ninja world. Outside, time stood still.

The fox felt Naruto's anger, the internal pain and horror that had actually turned them into friends over the years. Sure, he was an incarnation of evil, but a kitsune was bound by his honor. He was pretty responsible for the kid's harsh life, so he would always try to ease his pain.

He had done his best to aid the kit during the fight, though he had limits to what he could do. However, he knew of no enemy that'd been born since the rest of the Bijuu that could stop even an imperfect a Tailed Beast Ball, and it had become clear that his tried-and-true policy of kick ass, kick some more ass, get some ass, sit on my ass, rinse and repeat, would not work against an enemy who could cancel out demon chakra. That, in itself, was a power Kami himself would envy. He did have one option left, but it would involve some serious pain and even worse hurt than the kit had ever endured. However, the kit's life had been some piece of smelly horse shit on the road up until about two years ago. He could handle it.

So when Naruto approached his tenant's cage he found the fox ready with a plan. This, time, the ambitious genin had no tears left to shed. His face was an expression of determination. For once, the knucklehead ninja had gone steely calm. If he was sentimental, The Kyuubi would've pitied his host's victim.

The old fox spoke first. _**"Your vixen's in a bad way, kit. And it's pretty obvious my fighting style is useless. Yours isn't much use either, because without me bolstering your physical abilities, he'll mop you up. And he's only now getting serious with us."**_

Naruto had to force himself to stay composed. Though he wasn't going to deny a thing the Kyuubi had said, his bad side's pessimism wasn't good. If the Kyuubi no Kitsune didn't think it could kill something, then that was generally the time to drop your pants, bend over, and kiss your ass goodbye. However giving up was in the "not an option" bin today. This was one fight Naruto could not afford to lose.

_"I'm standing aren't I?"_ he said. _"As long as I can stand we can fight! He's scared, too! I'll outlast him. There's no way he has more chakra than me. Look, if Sakura dies, I die. I won't lose. I don't have a choice."_

The fox sighed. "_**Kit, you can stand because my chakra is giving you the strength to. Right now I'm using all I can spare to regenerate your skin. The only reason the snake is spooked is because you look like you could kill a dozen puppies and smile about it. Believe me though, guts alone won't get you through this."**_

Naruto threw his arms in the air. _"Well, then, great and almighty douchebag, how do we win this?"_

The Kyuubi grinned. _**"Well, kit, you have one option. However, it's never been attempted before, will likely be extremely painful if not fatal, and is batshit insane."**_

_"Okay," _Naruto said, without hesitation, intrigued. _"What do I have to do?"_

**"_Absolutely nothing, kit. Leave it all to me. Just close your eyes and pray."_** With that, the fox's form became intangible. He walked through the bars of his prison, straight at Naruto.

_"Whoah, what are you doing?"_ Naruto asked, extremely startled. That cage should've held the fox forever!

**_"Don't shit yourself, kit."_ **The Kyuubi said, more affection in his words than Naruto could ever remember hearing. His vessel had no parents, or any family at all for that matter, so it fell to a demon to care for this child. It was truly a sad story. The most deadly creature in the universe thought this as his spectral form melted into the mental image of Naruto Uzumaki.

**Please Review. I need to know if this story is any better than the last, or if it's any good at all. In all honesty, I think I suck.**


	4. The Fox and the Snake

**Yo. If you read the last one, thank you, If you're reading this one, thank you. If you ever gave me a favorite, story alert, review, or anything like that, I send you digital hugs. Okay, that was corny as fuck, but really, thank you all for the support. Most of all, though, I hope you enjoy!**

The first thing Naruto felt was pain. It was pure, unimaginable agony. Had processing conscious thought been on his list of things to do, he might have likened the feeling to being flayed alive. His mind was blank. His nerves were so ablaze that he couldn't think at all. The Kyuubi sensed Naruto's pain, but now that it had started, the only choice Naruto had was to endure it.

**_Hang on, kit._**

***dattebayo***

While fighting the remaining sound ninja, Yamato had felt an enormous rise in chakra that could only be Naruto fighting. The captain had noticed in the past few days—and especially during the fight with Kabuto—that Naruto's chakra was so massive, even without the Kyuubi behind it, that, if you could sense energy at all, Naruto was a beacon.

Not a minute later, he felt an even bigger surge, but that time it had been the Kyuubi's chakra, not Naruto's. Yamato dived under his final opponent's guard and drove a kunai into their right lung. The ninja coughed blood, and Yamato silenced him by ramming the knife up to the hilt into an eye socket. He left it there, and as the ninja crumpled to the ground, Yamato bolted towards Naruto, hoping he wouldn't be too late to stop Naruto from hurting himself or anyone else.

What Team Kakashi's current captain did not notice was the absence of Sai, who unbeknownst to everyone else, had slunk off with a captive Sound shinobi in search of Orochimaru's lair.

When Yamato arrived at the battlefield, he saw the deserter, Sasuke Uchiha, with blood leaking out of his left eye. Both eyes now possessed what had to be the legendary Mangekyo sharingan. Instead of three black tomoe, there were three wicked red ovals intersecting at Sasuke's pupils. The irises were jet black.

Standing in front of Sasuke was Naruto. How he was actually staying on his feet, however, was a mystery to the anbu. What was left of the blonde's skin was shredded and hung in tatters. His clothes were torn and burned. Blood dripped from his fingertips as his arms hung loose. There was a similar trail of crimson dripping off his chin and the tip of his nose. Yamato's panic button went on override and he prepared to step in, but then halted. Naruto had started shaking. Then there was a pitiable whimper. Suddenly, blood spattered out as Naruto let loose a primal scream of agony, fisting his bleeding hands in his hair desperately, as if he wanted to tear his own scalp off.

Yamato had been assigned to this mission, essentially, for the safety of its other members. If the Kyuubi's chakra went out of control, he was supposed to keep it from endangering the team or Naruto. He'd be damned if he didn't do something. He almost stepped forward again, but once again stopped in his tracks. Naruto was screaming like a tortured beast, but the chakra that seemed to just _radiate _from him now was…incredible. Naruto's chakra had been a raging maelstrom before, and it had been that chaos that had drawn Yamato. Now, the power was flowing off the genin in waves so thick that they'd become visible to the naked eye—bright pulses of purple energy that constituted both the most beautiful and most terrifying thing that Yamato had ever seen.

Then Yamato noticed something else. There was something…off about Sasuke. The last Uchiha had a fearful look in his eyes, but at the same time looked expectant, almost glad, if it could be believed.

Weighing these factors, Yamato decided to wait it out. His wandering eyes caught Sakura's unconscious and injured form on the base of a tree. He quickly entered the battlefield, unnoticed, and retrieved the medic to hide in his original position. He put together a course of action. He would step in if Naruto succumbed to his current…ordeal, but only if. The captain was not devoid of sympathy. If Naruto wanted to fight his best friend, he'd have no interference. After all, the Uchiha traitor—actually _both_ of the Uchiha traitors, if you thought about it—had tried to kill Naruto. He had the right to this fight.

***dattebayo***

Orochimaru was perplexed. He had completed defeated Naruto, had been attacked by his teammate with the pink hair, and had knocked her out as well. Then the blonde child had gathered the _impertinence _to stand against him again, unleashing killing intent unlike anything the Sannin had seen since his days among the Akatsuki. Then he'd started thrashing, screaming in what sounded like mortal agony, and giving off even more energy than he had before.

Then, as fast as it had begun, the fit had stopped, and the boy was now hugging himself like a toddler in a thunderstorm, uttering something between a whimper and a deep growl.

Orochimaru's eyes widened even further, blood still staining the left side of his face. _He couldn't be…_

***dattebayo***

The pain had finally subsided. Finally coherent, Naruto thought _Fox, what the _fuck _did you do?_

Now, usually, when Naruto tried to contact his demon, he'd have to go into his mindscape for them to communicate at all unless he was using its chakra, at which time the fox's voice seemed to originate from the chakra itself. This time, it was neither. The voice seemed to come from inside his head, almost as if he was hearing himself think.

_**I saved us, kit. Neither of us could kill that prick with your weak, human body and my restrictions inside here, so I merged my chakra with your own. Essentially, our chakra networks are linked. And since chakra is the energy that gives life, your life force is now interlaced with mine. I should be able to speak to you more easily, and you to me, and you may be a little…um…foxy. But aside from that you should just be a **_**hell **_**of a lot more dangerous. Congratulations, kit. You're a hanyou, a half-demon.**_

The last sentence hit like a ton of br—no, that'd be the understatement of a century. The last sentence hit home like a fucking _planet_. This was…he didn't have the words. There was know time to find them, though.

Naruto stashed his questions and amazement in the back of his mind. He'd worry about that after he uncorked a world-class ass-beating on the pedophile with the reptile fetish.

_Okay_, he attempted to sum up,_ I'll probably look a little different, you're not just in my stomach but also my head, and I'll be more of a badass then I was before, is that right?_

_**Yeah, that's about how it is. **_

_Doesn't sound _that_ bad, actually. But look, tall, mean, and fuzzy; we are _so_ talking about this later._

_**Fine. Just get out there and kill him. He insulted our power…TWICE! Then he pointed a blade at your vixen? Are you going to let him shit all over you like this? **_The Kyuubi no Kitsune was nothing if not crafty. Rage was a _very _good motivational tool.

_No. No, I'm not._ With that, Naruto cut the conversation.

Naruto noticed two things. First off, the conversation with his tenant hadn't wasted any actual, chronological time. So, even though he couldn't go to the mindscape, he could talk to the fox without distracting himself from battle. Weird, but good. The second thing was that the aching and burning from his open wounds had disappeared. In fact, his skin had grown back completely. He raised his head to see Orochimaru looking at him with a very uncertain, and rather fearful expression. Naruto let go of himself and held his hands in front of his eyes.

They seemed normal up until the tips of his fingers, where his fingernails had been replaced by inch-and-a-half-long claws. Unlike the claws he acquired when he normally used the fox's chakra, which were plain—if thick—constructs of keratin, these glinted like polished steel. Naruto flexed his hands in amazement.

His gaze then traveled to his arms, which were bare due to most of clothing having been shredded during the course of the fight. Thick golden fur—complete with bright red highlights, and about an inch long—grew on the bottom half of his forearms. Naruto wondered if the hair on his head was the same. He plucked out a strand and saw that it was.

The now half-demon looked down at his legs to see that they had received the same treatment as his arms: his calves were covered in fur, twice as long as that on his arms, and his toenails had been replaced with claws; just like the ones on his hands, but a bit longer. He felt the back of his neck, where an unbelievably thick mane had sprouted, all gold with scarlet tips. Had he a mirror, Naruto would have seen a line of fur following his spine to his lower back and ending at his waist.

He felt around with his tongue and very nearly cut himself. His incisors had grown and sharpened like they always had, but his canines were practically little daggers inside his mouth. In fact, all of his teeth were sharper.

Orochimaru stood stock still. He'd guessed before, when the boy's chakra had changed, but now he was sure. The Kyuubi had forced an internal merger with its host. He smiled at bit at the implications that had for Akatsuki. Extracting a demon was—supposedly— significantly more complicated if it was merged with the host on that intimate a level. It didn't matter, though, he realized, because he was going to kill the boy anyway.

The chakra emanating from Naruto was different than a human's or a demon's. It wasn't as repressed as a human's, or as corrosive as a demon's, but more concentrated that either one. With his Sharingan active, Orochimaru also deduced that it wasn't blue or red, but a mixture, forming a purple hue so bright it was almost uncomfortable to look upon.

The boy's physical features were further evidence. His shock was so great he could neither utter a word nor make any movement while the genin inspected his new body.

Naruto decided he'd finish admiring himself later. He had a job to do. He first took a look around for Sakura and didn't see her. He panicked momentarily, but then caught a whiff of her scent nearby, alongside Yamato's, and calmed down. _Good job, captain._

Naruto dropped into a crouch, pumping chakra into his legs. He saw Orochimaru's hands come up, and the Sharingan start swirling. He leapt. By the time the sound of dust kicking up reached Orochimaru's ears, Naruto was right in front of him, hand drawn back, fingers half-clenched.

_For Sasuke_, Naruto thought, as he slashed his claws across the Sannin's chest.

***dattebayo***

Sai entered Orochimaru's hideout cautiously. His timing, it seemed, had been absolutely perfect. He had felt two enormous chakras. One was clearly Naruto and he guessed the second was Orochimaru. If that was true, his biggest obstacle was absent. Even so, he was being careful out of both principle and necessity. His tanto was pressed against his captive's throat.

The man spoke slowly, nervously. "Okay, this is it. Like I said; no tricks."

The Root member fake-smiled. "Thanks," he said. "you've been very helpful." Then he slashed the Sound ninja's carotid artery in one quick movement, careful to get no blood on himself. He cast a quick genjutsu to shield the corpse from prying eyes, then stalked down the hallway, his tanto held at his side, still dripping crimson.

_Come on, Uchiha. Get out here._

***dattebayo* **

Then first strike had caught Orochimaru by surprise. Naruto's claws had shredded his flesh, carving four bloody furrows into his pectorals that bled and stung. Orochimaru had recovered and struck back, trying to get the time to cast a jutsu, but Naruto wasn't giving him enough leeway for even a substitution.

Orochimaru brought Kusanagi back into play and swung hard at Naruto, attempting to remove his head. Naruto ducked, and spun like a break dancer, landing two kicks to Orochimaru's ribcage. Orochimaru winced as Naruto's claws carved two more sets of shallow, but wide cuts into his flesh. He retaliated with a high kick to the blonde's face, which landed and drew blood from Naruto's nostrils, but then as he attempted to strike down with his sword, he felt Naruto's fingers close around his calf. Naruto used that grip to yank Orochimaru back and drive his foot into the Sannin's gut.

The sword stroke stopped, its owner's forearms having landed harmlessly on Naruto shoulder. Orochimaru was thrown back, winded and wincing, before having to retreat further to avoid a fistful of shuriken. He re-swallowed his sword and set into a fighting stance. His quick mind, the thing that had kept him alive for all this time, began analyzing potential weaknesses, labeling openings. He was a Sannin, a genius, and a _Kage_, damnit! He wasn't going to let himself lose to a child high on demon chakra.

He was forced to abandon his thinking, however, when the Leaf ninja charged him with renewed ferocity.

Orochimaru quickly shot through a set of seals and commanded "Water Style: Hydro Saw." A thin line of water shot from Orochimaru's mouth to shatter several trees. Naruto just barely dodged a fatal hit. The jutsu ripped his shirt and cut the left side of chest. If he hadn't dodged _just _as he had, the high-pressure water jet could've cut him in half. Naruto flinched at the minor injury, and Orochimaru whipped his head to the side, along with the water. Naruto's quick reflexes were his saving grace, as he leapt over the saw just before it took off his legs, or bifurcated him.

"Hidden snake hands." Five massive pythons launched out of Orochimaru's forearm and constricted Naruto, sinking their fangs into him and squeezing with enough strength to break any normal ribcage. "Die, you child!" Orochimaru hissed, his voice carrying more toxin than the reptile that was his moniker.

Realizing he wouldn't last much longer under the immense pressure, Naruto strained and expelled a violent burst of wind chakra from his body, shredding the reptiles binding him into bloody ribbons that fell around the hybrid like crimson hail. Gobbets of flesh in his hair and snake blood covering his body, Naruto growled like the beast he felt like and attacked again. The time he had taken to kill the snakes, however, had given Orochimaru time to form several sets of seals, and so Naruto's charge was met with a wave of ninjutsu.

To Orochimaru's credit, he did not make the mistake of underestimating Naruto again. It was very clear from his attack that he intended to incinerate the hanyou along with a good deal of the battlefield. Streams of flame, dragons of water, a small earthquake, an arc of lightning, and snakes met Naruto. To make matters worse, behind it all was _massive _gale-force wind.

_No way in hell I can dodge them all_, he thought. Out of options, he threw bird and snake, concentrating as hard as he could.

"Wind Style: Tornado Shield!"

A twister surrounded Naruto. All he could now do was grit his teeth and take the hits. The earthquake jarred his teeth, and the lightning fizzed out within ten feet of his wall. The snakes were ripped to pieces. The water might have tickled. None of that was a problem. The last two hit home, though.

Naruto momentarily forgot his training on elemental relations, and was not expecting Orochimaru's wind jutsu to fuel the flames and just about double their strength. The twister that was his armor became his prison, a raging wraith of flame. With a burst of chakra—and some luck—he escaped, but the fire had scorched his chest and arms, taking his jacket and a pant leg into the wind and charring his skin.

The snake wasn't letting up. He charged, Kusanagi drawn. Naruto looked back and saw that a ring of snakes, all with swords protruding from their throats, had him surrounded.

He slammed his hands into the snake seal.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." Usually, the jutsu expelled a gale in front of the user. However, Naruto had used a _lot _of chakra on this one. An omnidirectional shockwave exploded from the blonde, killing the snakes and hurling them into the sky. The blast caught Orochimaru full-on in the chest and hurled him across the—now flat—expanse of land they fought on, where the trees were felled in a quarter-mile radius.

Orochimaru landed and slowly skidded to a stop, then slammed his left hand down on the ground, sending out a small shockwave. Orochimaru raised his head, hair soaked in sweat. With dirt, grime, and blood matting his face, he growled out "Summoning Jutsu".

Naruto clenched his teeth and gathered his chakra just as a massive white smokescreen blocked his view. He formed his favorite seal. The snake shit wanted to fight with numbers, huh? He didn't even know the kind of mistake he was making.

With a cry of "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto was also hidden from sight as another smokescreen erupted.

When the cloud cleared, it was no longer a battle of individuals. It was a battle of armies. Clones vs snakes. Fifty Narutos—give or take—vs 5 gargantuan summoned snakes.

Orochimaru, standing on the center snakes' head, panted heavily, then leveled his sword in the direction of the clones. No more fancy speeches. No more rants about feelings. This was _over_.

"DIE, UZUMAKI!" Orochimaru screamed. The snakes charged, hissing filling the air. The first snake made a beeline straight for Naruto. When he stopped the titanic reptile bare-handed and smashed its face into the ground, he finally began to realize how much the Kyuubi had changed him. As his clones assaulted the snakes, being felled left and right, he raised a hand to form a Rasengan. The chakra sphere was colored an inky purple to match Naruto's new chakra. He barely noticed at all. Without a thought, he executed the snake with a Rasengan through the head.

Blood and scales caked Naruto's face. He heard a final *pop*, and then nothing. He looked up. His clones had managed to kill two more of the snakes, leaving a grand total of two left. The one without Orochimaru on its head charged, mouth open. Naruto tried to stop it, as he'd done to the last one, but this snake proved stronger and swallowed Naruto whole.

_Ugh, not again_, he thought. _These things really need to brush their teeth_.

"No." Orochimaru commanded. "Spit him out. I will be the one to kill him!" he declared, triumphant. Just as the chastised summon opened its mouth obediently to vomit out its victim, all hell broke loose.

Naruto focused as hard as he possible could. He didn't want to try his luck at escaping the way he had in the Forest of Death. This snake was both bigger and stronger, and there was no telling what amount of clones it would take to make it explode. He freed reserves of power that he didn't even know he had. Unbeknownst to him, he was about to give birth to something extraordinary. His natural affinities for wind and lightning combined with the Kyuubi's affinity for fire to create something entirely different.

Outside, Orochimaru noticed his summon begin to gag. That was normal enough, it was trying to vomit, after all. He became nervous, however, when a bright purple glow began emanating from the snake's throat. Then there was a sizzling noise and a scream.

"RRRAAAAAAGGHH!"

The snake's gut exploded in a blinding flash of light. It burned a hot white, but flickered orange and red at the end.

The burst engulfed Naruto and burned straight through the snake that had swallowed him, effectively cutting it in half. As the lifeless serpent fell, Naruto flew at the final snake, burning with white-hot energy. His claws plunged into the snake's flesh before it or its summoner could react, and then he ripped them outwards, ripping through it. The smell of burning meat filled the air. Orochimaru leapt off of his dying summon, realizing that he was now by himself.

Naruto landed on the other side of the hole he created, and as the snake hit the dirt, Orochiamaru landed directly in front of him. The power was still flickering. Naruto didn't know what it was, and he didn't care. He just knew that he felt goddamned _invincible_.

They stared at each other for a second. Red Sharingan eyes met cerulean irises with slit pupils. No words. A hidden understanding passed between them. One would die, but they respected each other's strength, if nothing else.

They charged. Kusanagi came down hard on Naruto head. At any other time, the blow would have neatly split him in two. The power was still with him though, and he blocked with his arms in an x-guard. The heat around his arms intensified, holding back the steel blade a hair's breadth from the genin's skin. Naruto yelled, and pushed back as hard as he could. It was then that Kusanagi, the jian of legend, and the sword that could cut diamond, broke. The last 15 inches of blade went spinning like a boomerang into the air. Naruto's claws, still pushing outwards, slashed Orochimaru's upper arms halfway through, incinerating flesh, bone, and tendons. He screamed.

The power faded then, as Orochimaru fell forward out of pain and exhaustion, and Naruto barely managed to stay standing. He wanted this thing to know why he had to die. He wanted the murderer inside to see itself for what it was.

"It should have been the Third's place to tell you this, Orochimaru, but since he's no longer here, I'll say it." Naruto took a deep breath. "You've fallen so damn far. You were once one of the most powerful and respected ninja in existence, and now you've been reduced to a disgusting, murderous, inhuman piggy-backer who can't realize just how deranged he really is. You took my best friend's body, and now I've taken his arms away from you. Now I'll kill you, and Sasuke can get the funeral he deserves, and the world will finally be rid of you." Naruto squatted to look the traitor dead in his stolen eyes, now without the strength to activate the Sharingan.

"How does it feel, snake shit?" he asked. "How does it feel to know that a _genin_, who also happens to be a just a demon brat, has reduced you to crawling on your belly like the snake you are? _You_ have the Sharingan. _You're_ the genius. You lost because I was the better fighter, the better shinobi, and the better person."

"Sasuke was my brother. The Third was my grandfather. The Leaf is my home. You've assaulted everything I care about, and no you'll get what you deserve."

A purple Rasengan formed in his right hand. "This is for every wife, husband, sibling and child who lost someone because of you. I hope your screams never end, even with time itself."

The chakra sphere came down. Dust flew into the air. There was a howl of anger and frustration. When the dust cleared, Naruto was standing over a splintered log.

The Kyuubi spoke for the first time since the fight had renewed. _**Sorry, kit**_.

Naruto couldn't believe it. He'd let the prick escape. He'd let him ESCAPE! All he could do was utter a quiet "I'm sorry, everyone…" before his exhaustion caught up with him, and he collapsed.

He hadn't won. The snake had slunk away again. Now he was completely spent in the middle of a destroyed forest in the Rice country.

_I swear on heaven and hell, snake shit, this is not over. _

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